Think big

One of the things you can do when you’re looking for idea inspiration is to think bigger. When you’re reading something, don’t just think of the information in the context of that particular story. Think about the fundamentals of the information and how you can apply them to what you are doing.

For example, Dharmesh Shah over at Hubspot just put up a nice piece on product launches. He gives seven lessons on launching new software. You may take a glance at it and think, “I’m not launching any new software, now or ever. This doesn’t apply to me at all.” But look again. The underlying principles can apply to any idea.

Take the first lesson – It’s not too early to release. Dharmesh talks about how if you wait until everything is perfect, you’ll never go to market with your product. You’ll be making endless tweaks.

This applies to your ideas. If you wait to talk about an idea until it’s perfect, or until there is no risk that anyone will dislike it – you’ll never offer any ideas.

In fact, all of Dharmesh’s lessons fit perfectly with having new ideas. Here are the rest of Dharmesh’s lessons with my applications to ideas in parenthesis:

Lesson 2 – Be ready to iterate (Be ready to refine and tweak your ideas)
Lesson 3 – Provide a simple feedback mechanism (Let people respond to your ideas without getting defensive)
Lesson 4 – Respond to feedback (Be open to the ideas of others and use them to make your ideas better. Let go of idea ownership.)
Lesson 5 – Track as much data as you can (Take lots of notes - even if you don't use them now, they may come in handy for future ideas)
Lesson 6 – Don’t waste time coding reports (Keep your notes, but don’t obsess over them. Go back and review them later, but don’t catalog and alphabetize!)
Lesson 7 – Watch it spread, nudge it along (When you get a big idea, encourage others to talk about it and participate in it. Ask others for their opinions, and pay attention to who is embracing your idea or not)

You can repeat this exercise with any bit of information. Try pulling out the fundamentals and applying them to your world, even if at first it may seem a little out there. Innovation starts when we take information we have and combine it in unexpected ways.